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Gund Gallery at Kenyon College


Show title: Warp: War Rugs of Afghanistan


Curator: Natalie Marsh


Warp (noun): 1. the longitudinal thread or yarn held in tension on a frame or loom; 2. a twist or distortion of the shape or form of something.


Since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and continuing today, traditional Afghan rug weavers have incorporated stylized representations of political figures, Kalashnikovs, flags, maps, architectural landmarks, tanks, drones and ammunition amid colorful floral and geometric patterns; designs reflecting a reality familiar to the people of this multi-generational war-torn region. In 1971 the Italian conceptual artist Alighieri Boetti (1940-1994) began commissioning Afghan weavers to produce his now famous series of map textiles originally inspired by his collected newspaper illustrations of the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War (1967). Years later, during the Soviet invasion and rise of the US-backed Mujahideen, numerous war rug artists began to reuse Boetti's visual mode in order to portray political maps of Afghanistan and neighboring regions overlain with representations of munitions, soldiers, fighter jets and historical people and events. Designs from the 2000s feature collapsing World Trade Center Towers behind peace doves and conjoined US and Afghan national flags. Still other rugs situate orderly rows and columns of identical tanks or guns enclosed within floral borders and encircled by decorative bands of bullets. Obama-era rugs have begun to include images of a new weapon: the drone. These and other iconographies are lifted from Western propaganda materials, sourced from major media outlets, and culled from personal experience. This exhibition presents a selection of rugs that simultaneously document the history of a region while standing as a complicated testament to a still viable expressive and contemporary artistic tradition impacted by unusually diverse economic and political pressures.


The Gund Gallery exhibitions and programs are made possible, in part, by the Gund Gallery Board of Directors and the Ohio Arts Council.


Opened 2017-05-26 Closed 2017-10-08

Afghan
Older Map Afghan War Rug (Listed as rug 1021 in Miami U show)
29 x 39 inches
74 cm x 99 cm
1
Afghan
Red Cicatu Afghan War Rug (On Loan)
39 x 72 inches
99 cm x 183 cm
16
Afghan
Paghman Lake Monument 1984 (listed as 1017 in Miami U show)
34 x 52 inches
87 cm x 132 cm
29
Afghan
Abrash War Afghan War Rug
40 x 66 inches
101 cm x 168 cm
39
Afghan
IN Pictorial War Rugs book(exhibited at Miami University Art Museum)Vertical Herati Pictorial, Large Afghan War Rug (listed as 1402 in Miami U show)
49 x 84 inches
124 cm x 213 cm
49
Afghan
Two Ewer Zakini.
42 x 78 inches
107 cm x 198 cm
78
Afghan
3 Large Vase, 6 Small Vase with Small Tanks
43 x 79 inches
109 cm x 201 cm
96
Afghan
World Trade Center #2
24 x 32 inches
61 cm x 81 cm
109
Afghan
Mario Brothers Horseman Rug Also rug ID # 57
41 x 71 inches
104 cm x 180 cm
137
Afghan
Black Tank Border w/ Long Fringe and Neon Diamonds
33 x 115 inches
84 cm x 292 cm
138
Afghan
1990 Dated Prayer War Rug w/Afghan Map

Duplicate ID - More info here
32 x 50 inches
81 cm x 127 cm
272
Afghan
Abstract WTC 9/11 Afghan War Rug #2
24 x 29 inches
61 cm x 74 cm
288
Afghan
Buried Land Mines War Rug
33 x 49 inches
84 cm x 124 cm
395
Afghan
Alexander the Great Citadel Prayer War Rug with Three Helicopters
33 x 49 inches
84 cm x 124 cm
405
Afghan
Green Soviet Exodus
25 x 32 inches
63 cm x 81 cm
424
Afghan
(exhibited at Miami University Art Museum)Blue Tank War Rug with Women in Burqas
40 x 76 inches
101 cm x 193 cm
490
Afghan
5 Tanks Brown
41 x 61 inches
104 cm x 155 cm
517
Afghan
4 Ducks and 2 Palaces Tower at Jam War Rug
34 x 52 inches
87 cm x 132 cm
534
Afghan
Blue War Rug with Women, Birds, and Small Tanks
34 x 55 inches
87 cm x 140 cm
536
Afghan
Minaret Sajada with Figures
35 x 57 inches
89 cm x 145 cm
544
Afghan
World Trade Center War Rugs
24 x 32 inches
61 cm x 81 cm
553
Afghan
War on Terror War Carpet
25 x 32 inches
63 cm x 81 cm
555
Afghan
Red Washed Sofreh (On Loan)
49 x 49 inches
124 cm x 124 cm
750
Afghan
7 Ewer, Blues and Golds, Mid 1990s
48 x 79 inches
122 cm x 201 cm
752
Afghan
Two Figure Banana Rug
42 x 76 inches
107 cm x 193 cm
754
Afghan
River Landscape prayer rug, early 1980s Exhibited Miami U
36 x 64 inches
91 cm x 162 cm
757
Afghan
Soviet Exodus Rug
24 x 612 inches
61 cm x 1554 cm
760
Afghan
Miami U British flag Tora Bora rug
24 x 33 inches
61 cm x 84 cm
761
Afghan
Orange, Red, and Blue Big Rifle War Rug
48 x 72 inches
122 cm x 183 cm
762
Afghan
Vegetable Dye Handspun wool AFghan War Rug
43 x 65 inches
109 cm x 165 cm
765
Afghan
Kharghai Soviet Exodus
28 x 40 inches
71 cm x 101 cm
771
Afghan
(exhibited at Miami University Art Museum)Soviet Hand, Red Ground
27 x 34 inches
69 cm x 87 cm
774
Afghan
Taliban Era Mashad Style World Map Rug
50 x 70 inches
127 cm x 178 cm
778
Afghan
Herat Mosque with Armor
33 x 54 inches
84 cm x 137 cm
779
Afghan
Small Dragon Ali Kwaja
47 x 80 inches
119 cm x 203 cm
780
Afghan
Dostum Standing
24 x 28 inches
61 cm x 71 cm
789
Afghan
Woman on Lion in Corner (Nigel Selection)
74 x 114 inches
188 cm x 290 cm
796
Afghan
Ma'sud with Silk Foundation (On Loan)
23 x 33 inches
59 cm x 84 cm
803
Afghan
Old Red Rug: Two figures pre 1989
22 x 33 inches
56 cm x 83 cm
894
Afghan
(exhibited at Miami University Art Museum) Brown (washed) Saph (Runner Dimension Prayer Rug)
32 x 139 inches
81 cm x 353 cm
897
Afghan
Armor Border Prayer Rug
30 x 56 inches
76 cm x 141 cm
900
Afghan
Late 1980's Landscape
29 x 48 inches
74 cm x 122 cm
916
Afghan
Kabul City Scene from Airport
34 x 49 inches
87 cm x 124 cm
923
Afghan
Very Fine Rug with Band Imagery
34 x 58 inches
87 cm x 148 cm
943
Afghan
(listed as 775 in Miami U show) Full View Minaret at Jam war rug
78 x 117 inches
198 cm x 297 cm
948
Afghan
Prayer War Rug
34 x 57 inches
87 cm x 144 cm
957
Afghan
Dual Columns of Tanks and Helicopters
36 x 60 inches
91 cm x 152 cm
964
Afghan
Progenitor Baghlani War Rug with Autumnal Color
Exhibited
Price on Request

36 x 72 inches
92 cm x 183 cm
985
Afghan
Hamid Karzai Rug (On Loan)
23 x 27 inches
59 cm x 69 cm
988
Afghan
World Map Baluchi Rug with Mir Border
65 x 108 inches
165 cm x 274 cm
1004
Afghan
Nightvision F16 War Rug
43 x 78 inches
109 cm x 199 cm
1006
Afghan
Motorcycle War Rug with Horsemen
44 x 76 inches
112 cm x 193 cm
1016
Afghan
MIG War Rug
32 x 56 inches
81 cm x 142 cm
1070
Afghan
Bomb Falling on Column War Rug
37 x 51 inches
94 cm x 130 cm
1071
Afghan
Massoud Wagireh (weavers sample) Rug with Afghan Map
29 x 38 inches
74 cm x 96 cm
1074
Afghan
Ali Khwaja Pomegranate and Mosque Rug (Plate 39 Vol. 1)
75 x 113 inches
190 cm x 287 cm
1081
Afghan
Minbar Design Prayer Rug
52 x 82 inches
132 cm x 208 cm
1085
Afghan
Three Panel Herat Workshop
48 x 76 inches
122 cm x 193 cm
1089
Afghan
15th Century Queen Gowhar Shad Mausoleum and Minarets
40 x 79 inches
101 cm x 201 cm
1093
Afghan
Afghan Kazak Afghan Map War Rug - War Against Terror
46 x 48 inches
117 cm x 123 cm
1107
Afghan
George O'Bannon's Gul i'Birjista
45 x 70 inches
114 cm x 178 cm
1109
Afghan
NFS - Pink RPG War Rug
43 x 68 inches
109 cm x 173 cm
1112
Afghan
Mint Green Flower War Rug
37 x 53 inches
94 cm x 135 cm
1114
Afghan
Two Small Linked Helicopter War Rugs
12 x 27 inches
30 cm x 69 cm
1127
Afghan
Red AK-47 Rug with Two Helicopters and Handgun
21 x 40 inches
53 cm x 101 cm
1131
Afghan
Parachute Medallion War Rug
43 x 68 inches
109 cm x 173 cm
1137
Afghan
Long Blue Three Drone Rug With Heavy Abrash (On Loan)
36 x 59 inches
92 cm x 150 cm
1165
Afghan
Red, White, And Blue Reaper Drone Rug
24 x 40 inches
61 cm x 101 cm
1166
Afghan
White Predator Drone Rug
24 x 39 inches
61 cm x 99 cm
1167
Afghan
Amman Ullah Khan Rug with Silk
33 x 56 inches
84 cm x 142 cm
1308
Afghan
Friendship Flat Weave (Exhibited at Miami University)
50 x 76 inches
127 cm x 193 cm
1380
Afghan
Devils Head War Rug
39 x 60 inches
99 cm x 152 cm
1382
Afghan
Turkmen Sumac (exhibited at Miami University Art Museum) Formerly 26.
44 x 68 inches
112 cm x 173 cm
1386
Afghan
Green Amman Ullah Khan Rug
36 x 58 inches
91 cm x 148 cm
1421
Afghan
Pictorial Sumac
50 x 70 inches
127 cm x 178 cm
1424
Afghan
Double Minaret War Rug
34 x 61 inches
87 cm x 155 cm
1463
Afghan
Caucasian Design, so called Chechen, Afghan Rug with War Motifs
63 x 87 inches
160 cm x 221 cm
1601
Afghan
Vase of Flowers Sumac Rug with Helicopter Border
45 x 81 inches
114 cm x 206 cm
1602
Afghan
Colorful M16 Tora Bora
27 x 32 inches
69 cm x 81 cm
1607
Afghan
First War Rug
39 x 63 inches
99 cm x 160 cm
1637
Afghan
Hajj Group Prayer Rug with Planes and Buses
66 x 111 inches
168 cm x 282 cm
1700
Afghan
Diamond Shaped Medallion Herati War Rug
45 x 73 inches
114 cm x 185 cm
2003
Afghan
Horsemen and Tanks (size approximate)
44 x 82 inches
112 cm x 208 cm
2017
Afghan
Three Building War Rug
48 x 79 inches
122 cm x 201 cm
2023
Afghan
Devils Head War Rug #2
37 x 60 inches
94 cm x 152 cm
2025